2011 -- A New Year Without Fear

There is a lot of fear floating around these days, as Wisconsin prepares to inaugurate a new governor: the climate change-denying, virulently anti-union, anti-high speed rail, anti-teacher, anti-everything Fighting Bob LaFollette stood for Scott Wanker (oops -- there's that pesky typo again; my finger slips off the "L" onto the "N" every time!) Fear has also been on my mind since I finished Barbara Kingsolver's stunning novel The Lacuna a few days ago, some of which revolves around McCarthyism and the ability to control people through their fear. 


One of the things I truly looked forward to when Obama was elected was an end to the kind of fear that the Bush Administration constantly stirred up, and to some extent I think that has been the case. But election 2010 happened, with fairly draconian overtones for us in Wisconsin, and there is a lot of fear of what it will mean for the public servants that the new governor seems to hate so much. I don't want to be a Pollyanna, nor do I want to put my head in the sand. However, I'm not finding it helpful when people come up to me and say, "What do you think it's going to mean for us teachers? Don't you wish you could retire?" etc. etc. 


I've been wishing (not for the first time) that I could talk to my parents about their experiences living through dark and scary political times, because from my perspective they did so with their heads held high, without fear, and managing to convey an unfailing sense of hope. 


This is how I want to meet the new regime: to speak truth to power (and not just in the vacuum of Blogdom or Facebook,) to be effective, to not give in to fear and to give my children hope. Being on the Left  means being frequently lonely, but I will seek out like-minded people, I will try to lead by example, I will encourage the quiet ones to speak their truth as well. I choose to remember that there is power in numbers, and perhaps this is the kick in the beehind that's needed for the masses to stand up. (And if not, I'll still hold my head up high.)


One of my favorite quotes for times like these is from Bayard Rustin, the long-unsung hero of the civil rights movement, when he was asked where he found the hope to go on. His response (paraphrased) was that hope isn't something you find, it's something you make.


Friends, go forth into the new year without fear and make hope. 

Have you been naughty, or nice?

Hogswatch is coming, the pigs are getting fat …

Yes, it's that time of year, when you hear the scraping of sleigh runners and the prancing of 
16 tiny hooves on your rooftop, when the fellow in the red robe comes down your chimney 
with his HO HO HO, a time to be jolly, with mistletoe and holly and -- other things ending 
in olly. That can only mean one thing: It's time for the annual reading of Terry Pratchett's 
Hogfather!


It's Hogswatch Eve, and the Hogfather has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. 
Paid assassin, Mr. Teatime (pronounced Te-ah teem-eh) and a band of petty thieves are 
messing with the beliefs of the world's children, leaving an inconvenient surplus of belief 
elsewhere -- especially at the Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork. Someone has to step in 
to save Hogswatch so that the sun will continue to rise each day, and that someone is … 
Death? HO HO HO. Also featuring the Verucca Gnome and the Oh God of Hangovers.


Another delectable offering in the Discworld series, Hogfather manages to poke fun at 
everything associated with holidays while honoring the underpinnings of tradition. A story 
with many twists, turns, and seemingly loose ends, but in the end you are richly rewarded. 
Pratchett's books may seem light and insignificant, but they offer so much food for thought. 
Honestly, what are you waiting for? HO HO HO, Happy Hogswatch!